India on track to surpass US as worst-hit, files 92,605 new cases
Health ministry reported 1,133 additional deaths for a total of 86,752; Sunday’s surge raised the country’s virus tally to over 5.4 million; ADMK flayed for contrary positions in Parliament
India has registered 92,605 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and is expected to surpass the United States as the pandemic’s worst-hit country within weeks.
The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 1,133 additional deaths for a total of 86,752.
Sunday’s surge raised the country’s virus tally to over 5.4 million.
India, however, also has the highest number of recovered patients in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Its recovery rate stands at about 80%.
Over 60% of the active cases are concentrated in five of India’s 28 states - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Utar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has faced scathing criticism from opposition lawmakers in India’s Parliament for its handling of the pandemic amid a contracting economy leaving millions jobless.
Tamil Nadu’s ruling Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( ADMK) has drawn flak for its contrary positions on the farm bills brought by the Centre in Parliament.
While the ADMK supported the bills following the line of Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, its nine MPS voted against the legislation in the upper chamber, Rajya Sabha, on Sunday.
Main opposition DMK’S president and Leader of the Opposition, MK Stalin, mocked Palaniswamy on Sunday.
“It is comic that the AIADMK supported the Bill in the Lok Sabha and opposed it in the Rajya Sabha,” Stalin said.
“Instead of enacting drama, it will be beter if the chief minister openly says that he had no choice but to support the Centre to safeguard his government and the cabinet.”
Stalin demanded Palaniswamy’s immediate apology to the people of Tamil Nadu for the ADMK’S support in the lower chamber.
“An apology alone will justify his position and offer temporary protection,” he said.
Stalin cited ADMK member SR Balasubramoniyan’s speech in the upper chamber of Parliament, which emphatically rejected the chief minister’s six-page statement in support of the bills.
Though Palaniswamy had backed the bill, Balasubramoniyan called it anti-farmer. It is aimed at supporting the corporate houses, he said, as he and his eight colleagues voted against it.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill cleared the Rajya Sabha on Sunday despite the DMK, Congress and ADMK voting against it.
The embarrassing situation in which the ADMK has landed is a reflection of its inner conflicts, observers say.
The party is deeply divided over several issues, they pointed out. While deputy chief minister O. Pannerselvam wants to be chief minister ater the elections due in May, Palaniswamy has resisted it and has been trying to sell his own image though the Covid pandemic is raging on without control. An executive commitee meeting of the party set for Monday could see fireworks, sources indicated.
Palaniswamy, meanwhile, is scheduled to reach out to the people with the launch 3,501 mobile ration shops on Monday, to deliver essential items to houses.
The shops have been named Amma Mobile Shops, picking on the nomenclature used for late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, who was fondly called Amma or mother.
The project is scheduled to be launched at 9 am on Monday at the state secretariat.
Interestingly, the mobile shops carry the photo of Palaniswamy and Jayalalithaa. There had been opposition in the ADMK against displaying Palaniswamy’s picture.
Separately, as incessant rain continued in Tamil Nadu, a flood alert has been issued for the coastal people of the Pannavadi reservoir area in Salem district. The Revenue Department has issued a warning as water from the Karnataka dams has been opened. Boat rides have been banned at the Metur Dam. Due to heavy rains in the Western Ghats, the popular Suruli Falls in Theni district was flooded on Saturday. It is raining continuously in the Suruli Aruvi forest near Kambam.